NOAA's Enterprise GIS Web Services Hosting
Environment project is prototyping a centralized hosting platform that NOAA
geospatial data providers will use to upload and publish their data via Web
services that implement OGC Web service interface standards. The goal is to
give all NOAA data providers access to a NOAA-wide common platform enabling
standards-based, interoperable data sharing and publishing, without needing to
configure and maintain the software at the program office level. To minimize
costs and maximize performance and scalability, the hosting platform leverages
popular open source GIS software packages GeoServer and PostGIS customized to
work within NOAA's enterprise computing environment. The system runs on NOAA’s
Web Operations Center and is integrated with NOAA's enterprise LDAP
authentication system.

The project originated as part of NOAA’s High Performance
Computing and Communications (HPCC) Incubator Program of 2011/2012. Funding was awarded to the project team to
investigate customizing open source software to meet NOAA’s particular needs
for GIS data publishing. Because NOAA
often produces atmospheric, oceanographic and other forecasts and model output
data as well as other geospatial data in frequently-updated automated
workflows, the hosting platform needed to provide a scriptable data publishing
capability. GeoServer was an ideal
choice because it includes an HTTP-based REST API that supports this. This means that data providers can upload data
sets from anywhere within NOAA’s network without encountering network firewall
barriers.

NOAA contracted with OpenGeo to customize GeoServer
to provide LDAP and other authentication options as well as a group-based model
to manage access to data, map styles, and other information uploaded to
GeoServer. These security enhancements
and fine-grained access controls allow a single GeoServer instance to be shared
seamlessly among many different user groups.
All of the functionality developed for NOAA has been merged into the
trunk GeoServer code base and will be available in the upcoming GeoServer 2.2
release version for free download and use by anyone. A good overview presentation from the FOSS4G
North America 2012 conference on new features available in GeoServer 2.2 can be
viewed here: http://foss4g-na.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/What_s_new_In_GeoServer_2_2.pdf.

Currently, the project team is working with NOAA
geospatial data providers to use the hosting platform during the 2011/2012
phase of NOAA's HPCC Incubator program and provide feedback on functionality,
usability, problems, and areas of potential improvement. NOAA data sets that have already been
uploaded in prototype OGC-compliant services include National Hurricane Center
tropical cyclone forecast tracks, graphical tropical weather outlooks, and preliminary
‘best track’ tropical cyclone track information, and National Geodetic Survey ‘Continuously
Updated Shoreline Product’, a new merged national shoreline under development
by NGS. The hosting platform will be
maintained for at least an additional year until summer 2013 by the Web
Operations Center to provide enough time to assess its value as a resource to
NOAA data providers.

Prototype OGC-compliant WMS and WFS services that
are published to the Enterprise GIS Web Services hosting platform will be
cataloged in NOAA’s new GeoPlatform for access by the public: http://www.geoplatform.noaa.gov/. NOAA
data providers who would like to participate in evaluating the hosting platform
should email open.ogc [@] list.woc.noaa.gov
to request an account.

Micah Wengren is an IT Specialist working in NOAA's
Coast Survey Development Laboratory. His
work includes web application development and system development with a focus
on geospatial data and mapping.